Pages tagged "yesh atid"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the successful formation of Israel’s 33rd government in the 19th Knesset. The following table shows the results of the elections, with a comparison to the results of the previous elections in 2009:

Jerusalem, Feb. 3 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is officially starting coalition negotiations Sunday, having been tasked by President Shimon Peres with forming a new government after his Likud-Beiteinu party emerged as the biggest winner in last month’s national election.

Accepting the task at a ceremony Saturday evening at Peres’ official residence, Netanyahu called in a televised speech for a national unity government that would include as many parties as possible in his next government, saying that peace is a central goal for Israel.

“The next government I form, Mr. President, will be committed to peace. I call from here to [Palestinian President] Abu Mazen to return to the negotiating table. Woe to each day that passes without us talking and seeking together a solution of peace for our two nations.”

The peace process is anticipated to be a major focus of international efforts with an expected visit to Israel later this month by new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Netanyahu also met last week with former UK prime minister Tony Blair, the international peace Quartet’s special envoy. At the same time UK Minister for Europe David Lidington said in a statement that his country “will emphasize the importance of a major effort on the peace process, and call for the EU to offer strong support for a U.S.-led push for progress in the coming months.”

Coalition Negotiations – What’s Next

Under Israel’s proportional representation electoral system the president customarily tasks the leader of the party with the largest number of seats to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Historically, no party in Israel has ever won 61 seats and coalition governments are the norm.

Netanyahu now has up to 42 days to find coalition partners among the other 11 parties. His largest most probable partner is the new centrist Yesh Atid party that captured 19 seats. Netanyahu is expected to try and persuade as many parties as possible to join his government to make it stable for the long term.

Coalition negotiations for the next weeks will center on which parties get cabinet portfolios, and the types of legislation the parties will want enacted as a price for supporting the government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is officially starting coalition negotiations Sunday, having been tasked by President Shimon Peres with forming a new government after his Likud-Beiteinu party emerged as the biggest winner in last month’s national election.

Accepting the task at a ceremony Saturday evening at Peres’ official residence, Netanyahu called in a televised speech for a national unity government that would include as many parties as possible in his next government, saying that peace is a central goal for Israel.

“The next government I form, Mr. President, will be committed to peace. I call from here to [Palestinian President] Abu Mazen to return to the negotiating table. Woe to each day that passes without us talking and seeking together a solution of peace for our two nations.”

The peace process is anticipated to be a major focus of international efforts with an expected visit to Israel later this month by new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Netanyahu also met last week with former UK prime minister Tony Blair, the international peace Quartet’s special envoy. At the same time UK Minister for Europe David Lidington said in a statement that his country “will emphasize the importance of a major effort on the peace process, and call for the EU to offer strong support for a U.S.-led push for progress in the coming months.”

Coalition Negotiations – What’s Next

Under Israel’s proportional representation electoral system the president customarily tasks the leader of the party with the largest number of seats to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Historically, no party in Israel has ever won 61 seats and coalition governments are the norm.

Netanyahu now has up to 42 days to find coalition partners among the other 11 parties. His largest most probable partner is the new centrist Yesh Atid party that captured 19 seats. Netanyahu is expected to try and persuade as many parties as possible to join his government to make it stable for the long term.

Coalition negotiations for the next weeks will center on which parties get cabinet portfolios, and the types of legislation the parties will want enacted as a price for supporting the government.

Jerusalem, Jan. 22 – The broad contours of Israel’s January 22 election were in line with months of polling predictions, even as the specifics of the race were shaken by the surprising late surge of the centrist party Yesh Atid. As polls projected, the voting was divided roughly evenly between a center-right bloc anchored by a dominant Likud-Beitenu slate and a fractured center-left. Incumbent Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will almost certainly be asked to form Israel’s next coalition government, and the third place Labor party is likely to lead the opposition.

The surprise of the evening was the success of the new, centrist Yesh Atid party, which found itself with enough votes to become Israel’s second-largest party. Only recently created by former journalist Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid’s success has triggered a wave of interest in the group and its positions.

Founded and led by Israeli TV personality Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid embodies a kind of post-ideological pragmatism. It couples an emphasis on tough national security with an explicit endorsement of a two-state solution. It promotes free market policies while insisting on the need to bolster the middle class. And though it is avowedly secular, the Yesh Atid agenda is expressed in terms of the need to integrate Israel’s ultra-orthodox and Arab minorities into the state's civil and military institutions.

The Israel Project has compiled a series of multimedia resources documenting Yesh Atid’s platform and the party’s rise. Two videos from a recent TIP election debate, held days before voting commenced, show top Yesh Atid foreign policy official Yaakov Peri outlining the party’s foreign policy agenda in general and specifically regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Below the videos is a gallery showing the scene at the Yesh Atid party on the night of the elections, as news of the party’s electoral successes began to trickle in.

Tel Aviv, January 22 – Israel's three major news television stations tonight released exit poll results projecting that the country's 19th Knesset will be dominated by parties clustering around the Israeli political center. The announcements come after months during which analysts predicted Israelis were preparing to vote into power the most right-wing government in the country's history.

In contrast, it appears that both the next Israeli government and the Israeli opposition will be led by parties committed to securing a two-state resolution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As polls had predicted since the campaign began three months ago, the final vote was closely divided between a center-right bloc anchored by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu party and a fractured Israeli center-left. The Likud-Beitenu list is expected to receive just over 30 seats, and Netanyahu will almost certainly be asked by Israel's President Shimon Peres to form the next coalition government. Electoral calculations indicate that he will be able to form a slim majority in Israel's 120-seat Knesset.

The surprise of the evening was the strength of Israel's centrist Yesh Atid party, founded and led by TV personality Yair Lapid. If exit polling holds, the party will have received enough votes to secure its place as Israel's second-largest party. Yesh Atid ran on a platform of secularism, governmental reform, and free market-oriented economic policies. Demographically, it draws from Israel's moderate middle class.

There is minimal distance between Likud-Beitenu and Yesh Atid on critical issues. Both parties share a foreign policy emphasizing the need for a two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, tempered with skepticism regarding Palestinian willingness to make and abide by negotiated agreements. Domestically, both parties are committed to pursuing liberal economic policies.

The next Israeli opposition will likely almost certainly be led by the center-left Labor party, which seems set to take its place as Israel's third most powerful party. Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich has taken her party to the left economically, but Labor shares with Likud-Beitenu and Yesh Atid -- and with huge swaths of the Israeli public -- both a commitment to a two-state solution and a skepticism regarding Palestinian policies.

The broad contours of Israel’s January 22 election were in line with months of polling predictions, even as the specifics of the race were shaken by the surprising late surge of the centrist party Yesh Atid. As polls projected, the voting was divided roughly evenly between a center-right bloc anchored by a dominant Likud-Beitenu slate and a fractured center-left. Incumbent Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will almost certainly be asked to form Israel’s next coalition government, and the third place Labor party is likely to lead the opposition.

The surprise of the evening was the success of the new, centrist Yesh Atid party, which found itself with enough votes to become Israel’s second-largest party. Only recently created by former journalist Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid’s success has triggered a wave of interest in the group and its positions.

Founded and led by Israeli TV personality Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid embodies a kind of post-ideological pragmatism. It couples an emphasis on tough national security with an explicit endorsement of a two-state solution. It promotes free market policies while insisting on the need to bolster the middle class. And though it is avowedly secular, the Yesh Atid agenda is expressed in terms of the need to integrate Israel’s ultra-orthodox and Arab minorities into the state's civil and military institutions.

The Israel Project has compiled a series of multimedia resources documenting Yesh Atid’s platform and the party’s rise. Two videos from a recent TIP election debate, held days before voting commenced, show top Yesh Atid foreign policy official Yaakov Peri outlining the party’s foreign policy agenda in general and specifically regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Below the videos is a gallery showing the scene at the Yesh Atid party on the night of the elections, as news of the party’s electoral successes began to trickle in.

Israel's three major news television stations tonight released exit poll results projecting that the country's 19th Knesset will be dominated by parties clustering around the Israeli political center. The announcements come after months during which analysts predicted Israelis were preparing to vote into power the most right-wing government in the country's history.

In contrast, it appears that both the next Israeli government and the Israeli opposition will be led by parties committed to securing a two-state resolution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As polls had predicted since the campaign began three months ago, the final vote was closely divided between a center-right bloc anchored by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu party and a fractured Israeli center-left. The Likud-Beitenu list is expected to receive just over 30 seats, and Netanyahu will almost certainly be asked by Israel's President Shimon Peres to form the next coalition government. Electoral calculations indicate that he will be able to form a slim majority in Israel's 120-seat Knesset.

The surprise of the evening was the strength of Israel's centrist Yesh Atid party, founded and led by TV personality Yair Lapid. If exit polling holds, the party will have received enough votes to secure its place as Israel's second-largest party. Yesh Atid ran on a platform of secularism, governmental reform, and free market-oriented economic policies. Demographically, it draws from Israel's moderate middle class.

There is minimal distance between Likud-Beitenu and Yesh Atid on critical issues. Both parties share a foreign policy emphasizing the need for a two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, tempered with skepticism regarding Palestinian willingness to make and abide by negotiated agreements. Domestically, both parties are committed to pursuing liberal economic policies.

The next Israeli opposition will likely almost certainly be led by the center-left Labor party, which seems set to take its place as Israel's third most powerful party. Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich has taken her party to the left economically, but Labor shares with Likud-Beitenu and Yesh Atid -- and with huge swaths of the Israeli public -- both a commitment to a two-state solution and a skepticism regarding Palestinian policies.

With two weeks left until Israelis go to the polls, The Israel Project (TIP), in conjunction with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI), hosted a foreign policy debate on January 8th with representatives from major political parties. Some 300 members of the foreign media, diplomatic community and HUJI student body braved stormy weather conditions to pack the Truman Hall for the first English-language U.S. presidential-style election debate, during which time candidates presented their parties’ positions on foreign policy initiatives, including the threat of a nuclear Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the U.S.-Israel relationship and Israel's role in a changing Middle East. Moderated by TIP’s Israel Director Marcus Sheff, the four senior candidates representing the parties making the headlines were: Yitzhak Herzog (Labor); Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi – Jewish Home); Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud-Beiteinu) and Yaakov Peri (Yesh Atid). Only Amram Mitzna (Hatnua) was a casualty of the weather.